Category

China

Daily Brief China: Alibaba (ADR), Miniso, Meituan, Agung Podomoro Land, Qunabox Group Limited and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Alibaba, Tencent Continue to Tear Down Walls Between Their Meeting Platforms
  • [Miniso Group (MNSO US, BUY, TP US$31) Target Price Change]: Near Term Story Is Still the Americas
  • MT/ Meituan (3690 HK) Earnings Preview: Fourth Positive EPS, 99% Upside
  • Morning Views Asia: Agung Podomoro Land, China Vanke
  • Qunabox Group Pre-IPO Tearsheet


Alibaba, Tencent Continue to Tear Down Walls Between Their Meeting Platforms

By Caixin Global

  • Alibaba Group’s office messaging and meeting app DingTalk is allowing users of Tencent Holdings’ rival social media app WeChat to directly join any meeting initiated on DingTalk without first registering.
  • DingTalk users can now share a meeting link with WeChat users, who can enter the meeting within WeChat.
  • Previously, DingTalk required participants to download its meeting app and register.

[Miniso Group (MNSO US, BUY, TP US$31) Target Price Change]: Near Term Story Is Still the Americas

By Eric Wen

  • Miniso report C4Q23 revenue in-line/7.9% vs. our estimate/consensus, non-GAAP NI is 5.1%/10.5% higher than our estimate/consensus on strong overseas sales from North and Latin Americas. 
  • Company guided for soft operating margin thanks to robust new store openings, which we believe to be accretive to earnings in the long run
  • We maintain the stock as BUY and but cut TP by US$2 to US$31/ADS

MT/ Meituan (3690 HK) Earnings Preview: Fourth Positive EPS, 99% Upside

By Ming Lu

  • In 4Q23, we believe total revenue will grow by 20% YoY and MT will have the fourth profitable quarter.
  • We believe Douyin will not threaten MT in the long run according to other competitors’ failure.
  • We believe EPS will reach RMB0.35 in 4Q23 and RMB2.23 in 2023.

Morning Views Asia: Agung Podomoro Land, China Vanke

By Leonard Law, CFA

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


Qunabox Group Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Clarence Chu

  • Qunabox Group Limited (QUNA HK) is looking to raise at least US$100m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunner on the deal is Haitong.
  • Qunabox Group Limited (Qunabox) is a marketing service provider in China, focusing on outdoor marketing for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
  • As per CIC, the firm was the fifth largest FMCG outdoor marketing service provider in China in terms of 2022 sales, with a market share of 0.9%.

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Daily Brief China: Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Techn, Cathay Pacific Airways, Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial, Luckin Coffee, CSPC Innovation Pharmaceutical-A, JD.com , Qyuns Therapeutics, Belle Fashion Group and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Quiddity Leaderboard STAR 50 Jun 24: 3 Changes Likely But Some Question Marks Over Certain Names
  • Cathay Pacific – Rising Inflationary Pressure Expedites Earnings Normalisation
  • Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Pre-IPO – The Positives – Has Benefited from a Growing Network
  • [Luckin Coffee (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$37) TP Change]:Weak Sales in 1Q24 but Likely to Improve in 2Q24
  • Cathay Pacific (293 HK, BUY, TP HK$9.90): FY23 Better than Expected, and Surprise Dividends
  • Quiddity Leaderboard ChiNext & ChiNext 50 Jun 24: Multiple Changes to Expectations; US$481mn One-Way
  • JD.com Inc.: Market Share Expansion via Platform Ecosystem Improvements! – Key Drivers
  • Pre-IPO Qyuns Therapeutics (PHIP Updates) – Some Points Worth the Attention
  • Belle Fashion Pre-IPO – Refiling Updates
  • Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Improving Margins Playing Catch Up


Quiddity Leaderboard STAR 50 Jun 24: 3 Changes Likely But Some Question Marks Over Certain Names

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • STAR 50 Index is a tech-focused, blue-chip index in Mainland China which tracks the top 50 largest and most liquid names in the STAR market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
  • In this insight, we take a look at our expectations for potential ADDs and DELs for the STAR 50 index during the June 2024 index rebal event.
  • I currently expect three changes for the STAR 50 index in June 2024 but there are some questions marks over the names leading the race to become ADDs.

Cathay Pacific – Rising Inflationary Pressure Expedites Earnings Normalisation

By Neil Glynn

  • 2023 results came in broadly in line with expectations but included a concerning step up in ex-fuel unit cost inflation.
  • We cut our 2024 EBITDAR by 10% to HK$22.2bn, which drives net income down 21% to HK$6.6bn, leaving us well below consensus.
  • We revisit Cathay’s margin generation problems from the last cycle, illustrating structural problems which require structural solutions.

Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Pre-IPO – The Positives – Has Benefited from a Growing Network

By Clarence Chu

  • Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial (AJI HK) is looking to raise around US$300m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
  • Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial (Auntea) is a freshly-made beverage producer.
  • In this note, we will talk about the positive aspects of the deal.

[Luckin Coffee (LKNCY US, BUY, TP US$37) TP Change]:Weak Sales in 1Q24 but Likely to Improve in 2Q24

By Eric Wen

  • We cut Luckin Coffee’s 1Q24 revenue estimate by 3% to RMB7.9bn with 79% yoy and cut non-GAAP net income estimate by 42% to RMB318mn due to (1) weak sales;
  • We expect 2Q24 to be the turning point for earnings due to (1) sales improving with weather warm-up (2) ASP rebound from easing competition 
  • We maintain the stock as BUY rating but lower TP by US$4 to US$37 to factor in the temporary near-term weak sale.

Cathay Pacific (293 HK, BUY, TP HK$9.90): FY23 Better than Expected, and Surprise Dividends

By Mohshin Aziz

  • FY23 net profit of HKD9.1b, easily beating the consensus forecast of HKD8.5b, and announced a surprise dividend, the first since 2019, signally pandemic effects are over 
  • Perfect execution from the team, leveraging on a strong market 
  • Cathay Pacific is a value BUY, our target price of HK$9.90 (+10% UPSIDE) implies 10x FY2024 PE. We will update more after tuning in the 2 pm analyst briefing 

Quiddity Leaderboard ChiNext & ChiNext 50 Jun 24: Multiple Changes to Expectations; US$481mn One-Way

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • The ChiNext Index represents the performance of the 100 largest and most liquid A-share stocks listed on the ChiNext Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
  • The ChiNext 50 index is a subset of the ChiNext Index and it consists of the top 50 names in the ChiNext index with the highest daily average turnover.
  • In this insight, we take a look at the names leading the race to become ADDs and DELs in the June 2024 index rebal event.

JD.com Inc.: Market Share Expansion via Platform Ecosystem Improvements! – Key Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • JD.com’s latest earnings showed a strong commitment to growth, navigating a mix of macro recoveries, seasonality factors and strategic refocus.
  • They delivered a growth in net revenues by 4% and recorded a non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB 8.4 billion.
  • Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short term investments totaled RMB 198 billion.

Pre-IPO Qyuns Therapeutics (PHIP Updates) – Some Points Worth the Attention

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • The biggest concern here is the uncertain commercialization outlook of Qyuns’s pipeline, mainly due to both industry factors in the field of autoimmune and allergic diseases and Qyuns’s own problems.
  • Qyuns is overvalued. There’re rumors that Qyuns was “not popular” in primary market when fundraising, perhaps due to Dr. Yu Guoliang’s past unsuccessful experience which made investors suffered losses before.
  • By reducing the size of IPO to maintain high share price, this IPO may “look successful”.Investors can seize this opportunity to take profits in time, but long-term hold isn’t recommended.

Belle Fashion Pre-IPO – Refiling Updates

By Sumeet Singh

  • Belle Fashion (BF) aims to raise up to US$1bn in its Hong Kong listing. The company recently refiled its application proof after a gap of two years.
  • As per F&S, it was the largest player in China’s fashion footwear market with a 12.3% market share, based on 2022 retail sales.
  • We have looked at the company’s past performance based on its earlier filings in 2022. In this note, we talk about the updates from its recent filings.

Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Pre-IPO – The Negatives – Improving Margins Playing Catch Up

By Clarence Chu

  • Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial (AJI HK) is looking to raise around US$300m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
  • Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial (Auntea) is a freshly-made beverage producer.
  • In this note, we will talk about the not so positive aspects of the deal.

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Daily Brief China: Li Ning, BYD, Huatai Securities Co Ltd (A), JD Logistics , Shougang Fushan Resources, PegBio, Adani Transmission and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Li Ning (2331 HK): Value Trap Play?
  • Li Ning (2331 HK): Evaluating a Potential Privatisation
  • Li Ning (2331 HK):  Update On The Name Given Potential Privatization News
  • BYD (1211 HK) 2023 Earnings Preview: Strong Top Line and Bottom Line
  • Quiddity Leaderboard SSE50/180 Jun 24: Some New Trade Ideas
  • Analyzing the Roles Parent JD.com & Subsidiary Deppon Played in JD Logistics’ Q423 Results
  • Shougang Fushan Resource (639 HK): FY23 Earnings, 11% Dividend Yield With ~50% of Mkt Cap in Cash
  • Pre-IPO PegBio Co., Ltd. – This GLP-1 Biotech Has Gloomy Outlook
  • Morning Views Asia: China South City, Greenko Energy Holdings, Road King Infrastructure


Li Ning (2331 HK): Value Trap Play?

By David Blennerhassett


Li Ning (2331 HK): Evaluating a Potential Privatisation

By Arun George

  • Reuters reported that due to the steep share price declines, Mr Li Ning is considering leading a consortium to privatise Li Ning (2331 HK)
  • The shares have been weighed down by concerns about channel inventory, steep retail discounts, and unauthorised distributor sales. To counter this, Li Ning aims to achieve RMB50bn sales by 2028.
  • The probability of an offer is low as funding the scheme consideration could prove challenging. Nevertheless, the downside is low as Li Ning trades at an undemanding valuation. 

Li Ning (2331 HK):  Update On The Name Given Potential Privatization News

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • According to public news today afternoon during trading hours, the founder and biggest shareholder of Li Ning (2331 HK), Mr. Li Ning, is mulling privatizing the public company. 
  • Mr. Li Ning has shown the opposite intention over the last few years, with several major sell-down of stake.
  • The company is trading at 16x 2024 PE, with visibility being quite low. 

BYD (1211 HK) 2023 Earnings Preview: Strong Top Line and Bottom Line

By Ming Lu

  • We believe revenue will grow by 44% in 2023 according to the sales volume and the price trend.
  • We believe net profit will increase by 100%, higher than the company’s estimate.
  • We conclude an upside of 54% and a price target of HK$304. Buy.

Quiddity Leaderboard SSE50/180 Jun 24: Some New Trade Ideas

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • SSE 50 and SSE 180, respectively, aim to represent the performance of the 50 and 180 largest and most liquid A-share stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
  • In this insight, we take a look at our expectations for potential index changes for SSE 50 and SSE 180 during the June 2024 index rebal event.
  • I continue to expect 5 changes for SSE 50 and 18 changes for SSE 180 but some names have changed since my last insight.

Analyzing the Roles Parent JD.com & Subsidiary Deppon Played in JD Logistics’ Q423 Results

By Daniel Hellberg

  • In Q423 JD Logistics booked 10% top-line growth & solid margin improvement
  • We analyze the impacts of JD.com & Deppon Logistics on JD Logistics’ Q423
  • Given still-low profitability, JD Logistics does not appear cheap, in our view

Shougang Fushan Resource (639 HK): FY23 Earnings, 11% Dividend Yield With ~50% of Mkt Cap in Cash

By Sameer Taneja

  • We preview Shougang Fushan Resources (639 HK) earnings for FY23. We expect revenue /profit growth of -15%/12% YoY with H2FY23 revenue/profit -1.7%/2.3% YoY due to lower coking coal prices.
  • We expect the company to pay an FY23 dividend of 36 HKD cents, implying an 11.3% yield. At the current spot price, the implied yield is 11.3%. 
  • The company’s balance sheet is rich in cash, with more than a billion USD (~50% of market capitalization). However, we are skeptical that the company will pay big special dividends. 

Pre-IPO PegBio Co., Ltd. – This GLP-1 Biotech Has Gloomy Outlook

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • PB-119 (T2DM) has the fastest R&D progress, but this is a highly competitive market.China’s diabetes drug market is dominated by traditional drugs. It’s not easy for PegBio to break through. 
  • Since the future competitive landscape of GLP-1s (obesity) would present a very different situation.If PB-119 fails to have better weight loss effect, it would be eliminated due to fierce competition.
  • PegBio’s IPO on SSE STAR Market was rejected. We’re not optimistic about its future commercialization performance. Together with cash-flow issues, we doubt whether PegBio would bring expected returns to investors.

Morning Views Asia: China South City, Greenko Energy Holdings, Road King Infrastructure

By Leonard Law, CFA

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


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Daily Brief China: CIMC Vehicle Group Co Ltd, Full Truck Alliance , Xinjiang Tianshan Cement A, Lianlian DigiTech, Gold, Bank Of Ningbo Co Ltd A, Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust, Longfor Properties, Hutchmed China Ltd and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • CIMC Vehicles (1839 HK): Min Acceptance Condition a Risk for the Final HK$7.50 Offer
  • CIMC (1839 HK): Firm Offer. With A Bump!
  • Full Truck Alliance: Strong Q423 Results | Solid Q124 Guidance | Cheap at 14x Consensus ’24 EPS
  • Quiddity Leaderboard CSI 300/​​500 Jun 24: Exp. One-Way Flow Tops US$3bn Due to Passive AUM Surge
  • Lianlian Digitech IPO: Worsening Profitability and More Capital for LianTong
  • The Aftermath of El Nino Weather // China Re-Confirms 5% GDP Growth Target
  • Bank of Ningbo – 24bps NIM Decline, Lower LDR, 18% Higher NPLs
  • Yuexiu REIT – Earnings Flash – FY 2023 Results – Lucror Analytics
  • Morning Views Asia: China Jinmao Holdings, China Vanke , Pan Brothers
  • Hutchmed China Ltd (13.HK/​​HCM.US) – High Growth Is Expected from 2024 to 2026


CIMC Vehicles (1839 HK): Min Acceptance Condition a Risk for the Final HK$7.50 Offer

By Arun George

  • CIMC Vehicle Group Co Ltd (1839 HK) announced the H Share buyback offer, excluding CIMC’s shares, is at HK$7.50, a 16.5% premium to the undisturbed price. The offer is final.
  • The key condition is approval by at least 75% of independent H Shareholders (<10% of all independent H Shareholders rejection) along with a 90% minimum acceptance condition.  
  • Excluding the irrevocables, the 90% threshold requires an independent H Shareholder acceptance rate of 77.7%, which could be challenging due to a light offer. Risk/reward unfavourable. 

CIMC (1839 HK): Firm Offer. With A Bump!

By David Blennerhassett

  • Back on the 28 November 2023, SOE-backed CIMC Vehicle Group Co Ltd (1839 HK) announced a conditional H-share buyback at a $7.00/H-share, a paltry 8.6% premium to last close.
  • This Scheme-like Offer, with a tendering condition, secured SAFE approval late January. But last month CIMC announced a CBP investigation into the evasion of U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
  • Now CIMC has announced a firm Offer at HK$7.50/share. Terms are final. The majority of independent H-shareholders are supportive. This looks done. Possible completion late-May, early-June.

Full Truck Alliance: Strong Q423 Results | Solid Q124 Guidance | Cheap at 14x Consensus ’24 EPS

By Daniel Hellberg

  • Q423 revenue growth, core margins, and expense control all looked strong
  • Evolving revenue mix bodes well for long-term improvement in core margin
  • Buyback update & Q124 guidance both +ive; appears cheap at 14x consensus

Quiddity Leaderboard CSI 300/​​500 Jun 24: Exp. One-Way Flow Tops US$3bn Due to Passive AUM Surge

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • CSI 300 represents the 300 largest stocks by market capitalization and liquidity from the entire universe of Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. CSI 500 represents the next largest 500 names.
  • In this insight, we take a look at the potential ADDs/DELs for the CSI 300 and CSI 500 rebalance in June 2024.
  • There are some changes to the list of expected ADDs/DELs since I published my last insight on this roughly a month ago.

Lianlian Digitech IPO: Worsening Profitability and More Capital for LianTong

By Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

  • Lianlian DigiTech (2104619D CH)  is a digital payment solution provider in China has filed for an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
  • As per news media outlets, the company plans to raise US$500m to help enhance its technological capabilities and expand global operations.
  • In this insight, we have discussed the company’s business model, key financials and the outlook on the company.

The Aftermath of El Nino Weather // China Re-Confirms 5% GDP Growth Target

By The Commodity Report

  • China set a growth target of “around 5%” for 2024, according to the “Government Work Report” released Tuesday as part of the opening of the National People’s Congress annual meeting.

  • Last year China’s economy grew by 5.2%, matching the official target of around 5%.

  • China set a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3% for the year, down from a rare upward revision to 3.8% late last year from the original 3%.


Bank of Ningbo – 24bps NIM Decline, Lower LDR, 18% Higher NPLs

By Daniel Tabbush

  • Bank of Ningbo saw its margins decline dramatically from 1.79% to 1.55% from 3Q22 to 3Q23. This is of concern for earnings power in coming quarters.
  • The bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) is now down to 73% from 78% YoY which tends to act as a dampener on NIM and core income.
  • Credit metrics are worsening with NPLs up from RMB7.9bn to RMB9.3bn YoY in 3Q23. This rise is not easily visible in the NPL ratio due to rising total loans.

Yuexiu REIT – Earnings Flash – FY 2023 Results – Lucror Analytics

By Leonard Law, CFA

Yuexiu REIT’s FY 2023 results were acceptable in our view, as earnings from its hotels and retail assets recovered y-o-y on the back of China’s resumption of economic activities following the pandemic. This was partly offset by lower earnings from its office buildings. The overall portfolio occupancy rate improved in H2, but was down marginally amid weakness in the office segment. Net debt decreased in H2, but was largely stable. Positively, the portfolio asset valuation was largely unchanged at CNY 42.6 bn. That said, the financial profile remains moderately weak.

We view refinancing risk as manageable, considering Yuexiu REIT’s healthy access to funding and large proportion of unencumbered assets. It will likely continue refinancing offshore floating-rate debt with onshore fixed-rate borrowings, which could help stem FX losses and lower interest costs.

We revise our fundamental Credit Bias to “Stable” from “Negative”, and move our trade recommendation to “Buy” from “Hold” on the YXREIT 2.65 ’26s. 


Morning Views Asia: China Jinmao Holdings, China Vanke , Pan Brothers

By Leonard Law, CFA

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


Hutchmed China Ltd (13.HK/​​HCM.US) – High Growth Is Expected from 2024 to 2026

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • HUTCHMED’s 2023 results were in line with expectation. It is gradually becoming a self-sufficient innovative drug enterprise with sufficient cashflow due to upfront/milestone payments of Takeda and increasing product revenue.
  • 2024 revenue guidance seems very optimistic, which has to rely on fruquintinib’s global sales performance (or Takeda’s contribution), and also on the timing of approval of fruquintinib’s 2L gastric cancer.
  • Starting from 2024, HUTCHMED will enter a period of accelerated growth in product revenue based on major catalysts.Market value of US$1,200 – US$1,800 million is a good place to long. 

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Daily Brief China: Tencent, CNOOC Ltd, Uni President China, PegBio, JD.com Inc (ADR), PDD Holdings, Microport Scientific, Water Oasis and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • WisdomTree Indexes Special Rebalance: ESG Considerations Dropped
  • A/H Premium Tracker (To 8 Mar 2024):  Liquid AH Premia Still Wide
  • HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 8 Mar 2024); Big Net Buys of SOEs, Finally Tencent a Net Buy
  • Uni-President China (220 HK):  8% Dividend Yield Looks Sustainable
  • PegBio IPO Preview: A Founder-Led Biopharma Player Fighting T2DM and Obesity in China
  • Tencent (700 HK) 4Q23 Earnings Preview: Stable Growth and Margin Improvement Will Continue
  • China Consumption Weekly (11 Mar 2024): JD.com, JD Logisitics, BYD, Alibaba, NIO
  • Pinduoduo (PDD US): Pricing in an Imminent Slowdown
  • China Healthcare Week (Mar.8) – GLP-1s, “Crowding Out Effect” in Healthcare, Microport’s Trouble
  • Shortlist Of High Conviction Ideas: Income, Value, and Margin of Safety – March 2024


WisdomTree Indexes Special Rebalance: ESG Considerations Dropped

By Brian Freitas

  • WisdomTree has dropped ESG considerations while selecting stocks for the EMXSOE, CHXSOE and WTEMXC indices.
  • That results in a lot of inclusions and fewer deletions across indices that will be implemented at the close on 15 March.
  • The round-trip trade across the indices will exceed US$500m with Tencent (700 HK) as the largest buy.

A/H Premium Tracker (To 8 Mar 2024):  Liquid AH Premia Still Wide

By Travis Lundy

  • The New/Better A-H Premium Tracker has tables, charts, measures galore to track A/H premium positioning, southbound and northbound positioning/volatility in pairs over time, etc.
  • SOUTHBOUND a net buyer every day since the end of Chinese New Year. NORTHBOUND a net seller this week for the first week in 6. AH premia slightly down.
  • Wide spreads continue to narrow and narrow spreads continue to widen.

HK Connect SOUTHBOUND Flows (To 8 Mar 2024); Big Net Buys of SOEs, Finally Tencent a Net Buy

By Travis Lundy

  • A shares were up small on the week. HK stock indices were down. 
  • Net SOUTHBOUND buying was HK$17.1bn in the third post-holiday week. SOUTHBOUND has net bought every day since the end of Chinese New Year.
  • SOUTHBOUND continues to buy high-div SOEs. ex-div is still three months away, and given the new KPIs discussed late January by SASAC official, these still seem to be appropriate targets.

Uni-President China (220 HK):  8% Dividend Yield Looks Sustainable

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • Uni President China (220 HK), a F&B company in China, has an impressive track record of paying near 100% or over 100% of net profit in dividends since 2018. 
  • The company has two segments, food (mainly instant noodle), and beverage.  Overall sales grew 1% yoy in 2023 while net profit jumped 36% yoy. 
  • Given the reasonable valuation (13x forward PE), a near 40% net cash position, and most importantly a stable 8% dividend yield, the stock looks attractive.

PegBio IPO Preview: A Founder-Led Biopharma Player Fighting T2DM and Obesity in China

By Andrei Zakharov

  • PegBio, a VC-backed biotech company, plans to tap capital markets in Hong Kong. CICC is leading the offering, and an IPO date has yet to be announced.
  • The company’s pipeline features promising drug candidates designed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity, NASH, OIC and congenital hyperinsulinemia. 
  • PegBio employs a proprietary technology platform, called HECTOR, and has six drug candidates in the pipeline portfolio. PB-119 is their core product with the purpose to treat T2DM and obesity.

Tencent (700 HK) 4Q23 Earnings Preview: Stable Growth and Margin Improvement Will Continue

By Ming Lu

  • We believe total revenue will grow by 11% in 4Q23 and 2024.
  • We also believe the operating margin will improve slightly in 4Q23 and the following two years.
  • Tencent sold weak business to China Literature in December 2024.

China Consumption Weekly (11 Mar 2024): JD.com, JD Logisitics, BYD, Alibaba, NIO

By Ming Lu

  • JD.com stock price surged after its 4Q23 results and repurchase decision.
  • It is not big issue that BYD sales decreased in the weak season.
  • Alibaba began to close unprofitable Freshippo stores in February, but the company said it has expansion plan.

Pinduoduo (PDD US): Pricing in an Imminent Slowdown

By Eric Chen

  • We see further upside to our previous above-consensus 4Q23 results estimates on low base, enhanced monetization, and faster TEMU expansion.
  • That said, we believe market focus already shifted to outlook for 2024, in particular an imminent slowdown in 1Q24 and renewed concern around US curb on TEMU.
  • 30% share price correction is pricing in the above scenario and valuation should gradually improve as PDD delivers back-loaded bottom line growth in 2024.

China Healthcare Week (Mar.8) – GLP-1s, “Crowding Out Effect” in Healthcare, Microport’s Trouble

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • Since the domestic revenue scale of PD-1 has been much lower-than-expected, the market seems no longer willing to offer GLP-1 weight loss drug high expectations. However, that’s not right. 
  • For China healthcare, the emergence of negative domestic policies is a time for reassessment and seeking opportunities, rather than a time of blind pessimism.
  • Issuing convertible bonds is clearly a bad decision for Microport, which chose to sacrifice the interests of minority shareholders. Together with weak fundamentals/cashflow pressure, the management needs to take responsibility.


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Daily Brief China: Tencent, SHEIN and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • [Tencent (700 HK, BUY, TP HK$362) TP Change]: Core Business Is Robust While VA Is Expanding Fast
  • Shifting Its Planned IPO from New York to London Won’t Address Key Risks Facing SHEIN


[Tencent (700 HK, BUY, TP HK$362) TP Change]: Core Business Is Robust While VA Is Expanding Fast

By Ying Pan

  • We expect Tencent to report C4Q23 revenue, IFRS op. profit and IFRS net income in line, (3.3%) and (4.9%) vs. consensus.
  • The robust topline growth was mainly contributed by fast growing WeChat VA (Video Account) and strong performances of <Dream Star> in December.
  • We cut our TP to HK$362 to reflect operating margin decline caused by increased sales and marketing. 

Shifting Its Planned IPO from New York to London Won’t Address Key Risks Facing SHEIN

By Daniel Hellberg

  • A listing in London would not remove de minimis reform risk in US market
  • A new report quantifies the potential cost of changes to US de minimis rules
  • Europe’s rigorous new ‘digital services’ laws are an emerging threat to SHEIN

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Daily Brief China: Baidu, Shanghai Zhida Technology Development Co Ltd, NetEase and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Baidu Inc.: Are Its Investments In Gen AI and LLM Paying Off? – Major Drivers
  • Shanghai Zhida Technology Development Pre-IPO Tearsheet
  • NetEase Inc.: How The Company Has Built A Robust Gaming Ecosystem! – Major Drivers


Baidu Inc.: Are Its Investments In Gen AI and LLM Paying Off? – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • The recent earnings of Baidu indicated solid performance for the fiscal year 2023.
  • An extremely neutral analysis reveals several positives.
  • The total revenue for Baidu Core’s total revenue for the year increased by 8% year-over-year, indicating strong financial resilience.

Shanghai Zhida Technology Development Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Clarence Chu

  • Shanghai Zhida Technology Development Co Ltd (SZTD HK) is looking to raise about US$130m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. Shenwan Hongyuan is the sole bookrunner.
  • Shanghai Zhida Technology Development (SZTD) is a provider of electric vehicle (EV) home charging solutions.
  • As per F&S, the firm was the world’s largest provider of EV home charging solutions in terms of sales volume of home EV chargers over its track record period.

NetEase Inc.: How The Company Has Built A Robust Gaming Ecosystem! – Major Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • The NetEase Q4 earnings revealed several strengths and weaknesses in the company.
  • On the positives, NetEase reported a 7% increase in total net revenue for 2023 to RMB 103.5 billion (USD 14.6 billion), driven by momentum across its businesses.
  • The revenue growth was attributed mainly to increased revenue contribution from the launch of new games such as Justice Mobile, and sustainably developed titles like Egg Party.

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Daily Brief China: JD.com Inc (ADR), China Vanke (H), Sasseur REIT, Li Auto , SenseTime Group , Fu Shou Yuan, Shanghai REFIRE Group, Sun Hung Kai Properties, Vinda International, SITC International and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • JD.com (JD US):  Improved Shareholder Return Is Key
  • China Vanke: Should Investors Be Worried?
  • Sasseur REIT (SGX: CRPU) – A Play On China Consumption Via The Operations-Focused Outlet Sector
  • Quiddity HSTECH Jun 24 Leaderboard: Capping Flows Li Auto, Meituan, and XPeng
  • Quiddity HSCEI Jun 24 Flow Expectations: Many Reasons to Follow the Developments Closely
  • Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK): Proposing a Special Dividend
  • Shanghai REFIRE Group Pre-IPO Tearsheet
  • HK RE Series (2): Market Is Still Bearish but Bottom Is Near, Few Things Needed for Re-Rating
  • Vinda (3331 HK): Offer Now Open
  • SITC International (1308 HK): Bidding Farewell to the Trough


JD.com (JD US):  Improved Shareholder Return Is Key

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US) reported a set of better-than-expected 4Q23 results yesterday, as the ADR rose 16% last night in US trading session. 
  • The improvement in net profit margin showed that being more price competitive did not lead to lower margins. 
  • I believe the key takeaway, aside from the resilient 4Q23 results and solid 2024 outlook, is the much improved shareholder return measures.

China Vanke: Should Investors Be Worried?

By Fern Wang

  • China Vanke has caused jitters as it was reported to be closely watched by some insurers as it seeks to rollover some of its debt with insurers.
  • It is reported that it has sufficient funding to repay its bond due on March 11th and is lining up a HK$1.5 billion syndication loan.
  • Vanke warrants close monitoring as there is no sign of turning in its reducing contract sales, deteriorating cash position, shrinking financing ability. 

Sasseur REIT (SGX: CRPU) – A Play On China Consumption Via The Operations-Focused Outlet Sector

By Robert Ciemniak

  • The Smartkarma Corporate Webinar | Sasseur REIT: A Glimpse into China’s Outlet Industry on Feb 29 explored the Oulet sector with Sasseur REIT, a Singapore REIT focused on China Outlets.
  • Sasseur REIT is 57.85% owned by the Sasseur Group operating China outlets since 2008, with 4 outlets in 3 major Tier-2 cities currently in the REIT, with room for expansion.
  • Sasseur REIT is a play on China consumption and outlet operations. 2023 EMA rental income +10.7% Y/Y.  The 9.1% dividend yield stands out, at a relatively low aggregate leverage.

Quiddity HSTECH Jun 24 Leaderboard: Capping Flows Li Auto, Meituan, and XPeng

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • The HSTECH Index tracks the performance of the top 30 technology companies listed in Hong Kong that have high business exposure to certain technology themes.
  • In this insight, we take a look at the rankings of potential ADDs and potential DELs for the June 2024 index rebal event.
  • While there are no expected ADDs/DELs for HSTECH in June 2024, some index members like Li Auto (2015 HK), Meituan (3690 HK), and XPeng (9868 HK) could experience capping flows.

Quiddity HSCEI Jun 24 Flow Expectations: Many Reasons to Follow the Developments Closely

By Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

  • The HSCEI serves as a benchmark to reflect the overall performance of the top 50 “Mainland China” securities listed in Hong Kong.
  • In this insight, we take a look at the potential index changes and the resultant capping flows for HSCEI index rebal event in June 2024.
  • Based on the current data, I see two low-conviction ADDs and two low-conviction DELs.

Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK): Proposing a Special Dividend

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK) is likely to declare a special dividend in its FY23 result announcement as indicated in its board meeting notification.
  • Net cash at end-1H23 amounted to 14.5% of its current share price, providing room for imagination of the amount of special dividends. 
  • Besides raising its yield, returning excess cash should raise its ROE. This will also demonstrate the management’s confidence on the outlook and its financial position.

Shanghai REFIRE Group Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Sumeet Singh

  • Shanghai REFIRE Group (SRG) is looking to raise around US$100m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunner for the deal is CICC.
  • SRG designs, develops, manufactures, and sells hydrogen fuel cell systems, hydrogen production systems, and related components, as well as provides fuel cell engineering and technical services.
  • According to Frost & Sullivan (F&S), it ranked first in the hydrogen fuel cell system market in China, with a market share of 25.9%.

HK RE Series (2): Market Is Still Bearish but Bottom Is Near, Few Things Needed for Re-Rating

By Jacob Cheng

  • Markets continue to be extremely bearish on HK/China, we look at the latest property market fundamentals and macro indicators, as well as company updates of our top picks
  • In the latest budget, the HK government just announced to scrap all spicy measures on property market and eased mortgage policy
  • With government support, we view the bottom of physical market is near.  For further re-rating, we need interest rate to go down, as well as resumed fund flows.

Vinda (3331 HK): Offer Now Open

By David Blennerhassett

  • PRC regulatory approvals were satisfied on the 4th March for the Tanoto family’s HK$23.50 pre-conditional Offer for Vinda International (3331 HK)
  • The Circular has been dispatched, and the Offer is now open for acceptances.
  • With a 50% minimum acceptance condition and irrevocables of 72.624% (plus Tanoto’s 7.69% direct stake), this should turn unconditional on or before the 19th March

SITC International (1308 HK): Bidding Farewell to the Trough

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • The 72.5% decline in SITC International (1308 HK)‘s FY23 earnings is disappointing but should already reflected in the share price given the profit warning. Instead, this may be the trough.  
  • Spot freight rates for key intra-Asia routes have already recovered since 3Q23, with the YTD level higher than the 2H23 average. The 1H24 result may show a sequential rebound.
  • Even assuming flat YoY earnings in FY24, it still sits on a 9% dividend yield. The projected ROE of over 24% and net cash position mean 1.6-1.7x P/B undemanding.

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Daily Brief China: New World Development, Hua Hong Semiconductor, Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering-A, China Power International, Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial, UMP Healthcare, Nameson Holdings, Greentown China and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • StubWorld: Troubling Signs For NWD (17 HK)
  • Hua Hong Semiconductor: AI, EV and New Energy Opportunities at a Leading Chinese Foundry
  • CSI300 Index Rebalance Preview: Potential Adds Outperforming Despite ETF Inflows
  • China Power International (2380 HK): We See More Upside
  • Pre-IPO Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial – An IPO Is a Must, but Success Is Not Guaranteed
  • UMP Medical (722 HK): Slow H124, Deep Value, Execution Remains Key
  • Some Updates #2
  • Morning Views Asia: Adani Green Energy, Greentown China


StubWorld: Troubling Signs For NWD (17 HK)

By David Blennerhassett

  • Despite the lifting of the “spicy” property cooling measures last week, New World Development (17 HK) has plumbed fresh P/B lows after a (very) brief respite. 
  • Preceding my comments on NWD are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
  • These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation >20%.

Hua Hong Semiconductor: AI, EV and New Energy Opportunities at a Leading Chinese Foundry

By Smartkarma Research

For our next Corporate Webinar, we are glad to welcome Hua Hong Seminconductor’s Chief Financial Officer, Daniel Yu-Cheng Wang. 

In the upcoming webinar, Daniel will share a short company presentation after which, he will engage in a fireside chat with Smartkarma Insight Provider, Eric Wen. The Corporate Webinar will include a live Q&A session.

The Corporate Webinar will be hosted on Tuesday, 12 March 2024, 16:00 SGT.

About Hua Hong Semiconductor

Hua Hong Semiconductor Limited, an investment holding company, manufactures and sells semiconductor products. The company provides embedded non-volatile memory, standard logic and mixed-signal, radio frequency, power management integrated circuits, power discrete, and automotive solutions. It also offers foundry services; and design services comprising standard and customized IP development, full-custom layout design, and customer-specific integrated solutions, as well as design support and tape out services. In addition, the company provides multi-project wafer services; mask making services; and backend services, such as in-house testing, backside processing and dicing, and backend turnkey services, as well as assembly and testing services. 

Further, it engages in real estate development. Its products are used in consumer electronics, communications, computing, industrial, and automotive markets in the People’s Republic of China, North America, Europe, Japan, and other Asian countries. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China. Hua Hong Semiconductor Limited is a subsidiary of Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd.


CSI300 Index Rebalance Preview: Potential Adds Outperforming Despite ETF Inflows

By Brian Freitas

  • With 85% of the review period complete, we see 11 changes for the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300 INDEX) in June.
  • We estimate one-way turnover of 1.2% at the rebalance leading to a one-way trade of CNY 7.3bn (US$1bn). There are a lot of stocks with multiple days ADV to trade.
  • The potential adds have outperformed the potential deletes despite large flows from the National Team into ETFs tracking the CSI 300 Index. That support for the potential deletes will reverse.

China Power International (2380 HK): We See More Upside

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • China Power International (2380 HK)‘s Jan power sales showed a sharp 41.2% YoY growth. More importantly, this marks sustaining a solid MoM trend in the last few months. 
  • Recovery of the hydropower generation is encouraging as this was a drag last year. Meanwhile, higher coal-fired generation will capture the better profitability of this segment.
  • CPI’s strongest earnings CAGR in the sector has made its earnings multiples increasingly cheap over the next two years. After +15.7% YTD in its share price, there is further upside.

Pre-IPO Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial – An IPO Is a Must, but Success Is Not Guaranteed

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • Auntea Jenny is positioned in the same league as Guming. Both have similar business model/strategy. However, in terms of the number of stores/revenue scale/profitability, Auntea Jenny lags behind its peers.
  • China’s freshly-made beverage industry has developed to the stage of capitalization. Auntea Jenny has to obtain more funds to strengthen barriers, improve supply chain, accelerate expansion.The real competition just begins.
  • Pre-IPO valuation of Auntea Jenny was already RMB5.1 billion, but the market seems not optimistic about the franchising model. Valuation of Auntea Jenny should be lower than that of Guming/MIXUE.  

UMP Medical (722 HK): Slow H124, Deep Value, Execution Remains Key

By Sameer Taneja

  • UMP Healthcare (722 HK) delivered a slow start to FY24, with revenues up 2.3% YoY and profits down 63% YoY, due to sluggish demand in Hong Kong. 
  • The company cut dividend for H1 FY24 by 25% to 1.3 HKD cents/share. Net cash on the balance sheet remained healthy at 265 mn HKD representing 64% of market capitalization.
  • The company is implementing stringent cost control and we believe that a slow turnaround and a 9-10% dividend yield is very probable at these levels. 

Some Updates #2

By Turtles all the way down

  • First a new holding, Nameson Holdings (HKG:1982). A vertically integrated knitwear and fabrics manufacturer with most of its production base in Vietnam and some of it still in China.
  • They expanded to Myanmar, which did not work out so well, so they had to take significant write-downs and restructuring costs recently of 243 million HK$.
  • This somewhat obscures their true earnings power.

Morning Views Asia: Adani Green Energy, Greentown China

By Leonard Law, CFA

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


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Daily Brief China: Tuhu Car , Yihai Int’L Holding, Xunfei Healthcare Technology, Innovent Biologics Inc, Japfa Comfeed Indonesia and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Tuhu Car Lock-Up Expiry – Would Need Some Selling to Improve Liquidity when US$1.5bn Comes Unlocked
  • Yihai International (1579 HK):  Beneficiary Of Haidilao’s Adoption Of Franchising Model
  • Xunfei Healthcare Technology Pre-IPO Tearsheet
  • 2024 High Conviction Update: Innovent (1801.HK) – Recent Promising Business Updates and 2024 Outlook
  • Morning Views Asia: Japfa Comfeed Indonesia


Tuhu Car Lock-Up Expiry – Would Need Some Selling to Improve Liquidity when US$1.5bn Comes Unlocked

By Clarence Chu

  • Tuhu Car (9690 HK) was listed in Hong Kong on 26th Sept 2023 after raising US$151m. The IPO had been a 100% primary offering.
  • Tuhu is an integrated online and offline platform for automotive services in China.
  • Trading with a very small float of 1.8%, in its upcoming six-month lockup expiry, >90% of Tuhu’s pre-IPO investors, cornerstones and management combined stakes will come off six-month lockup expiry.

Yihai International (1579 HK):  Beneficiary Of Haidilao’s Adoption Of Franchising Model

By Steve Zhou, CFA

  • Yesterday, Haidilao International Holding (6862 HK), the largest hotpot chain in China, announced that the company will introduce franchise model as a new way to support growth. 
  • Haidilao’s move into franchising should directly benefit Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK), the affiliate company that supplies hotpot condiments to Haidilao. 
  • Yihai is trading at an inexpensive 12x 2024 PE compared to a historical average of 32x since listing.

Xunfei Healthcare Technology Pre-IPO Tearsheet

By Clarence Chu

  • Xunfei Healthcare Technology (XHT HK) is looking to raise around US$200m in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO. The bookrunners on the deal are Huatai International, GF Capital, and CCB International.
  • Xunfei Healthcare Technology (Xunfei), a iFlytek (Shenzhen-listed) spin-off, primarily provides solutions covering the full healthcare service cycle, with products and services mainly catered towards major stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
  • Backed by its healthcare AI solutions matrix, the firm ranked first in the healthcare AI industry in terms of revenue in China in 2022, according to Frost & Sullivan (F&S).

2024 High Conviction Update: Innovent (1801.HK) – Recent Promising Business Updates and 2024 Outlook

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • Innovent’s 2023 product revenue was RMB5.7 billion. In 2024, product revenue growth would remain strong (e.g. 35% YoY).The main flashpoint for performance is after the approval of mazdutide in 2025.
  • Innovent has started paving the way for mazdutide more than a year in advance and building various channels.Normally speaking, mazdutide could get the approval in 25Q2. Its CDMO is Asymchem
  • Share price of Innovent was once dragged down by the CXO plunge due to the US Draft Bill, but unlike CXOs, innovative drugs do not involve supply chain security issues.

Morning Views Asia: Japfa Comfeed Indonesia

By Leonard Law, CFA

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


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